Friday, 24 July 2015

One in five Scots have given up on finding love – a greater percentage than any other UK region.New research from relationship site eHarmony.co.uk reveals that one million Scottish adults don’t think they’ll ever fall in love with somebody.Of the 1.6 million Scottish adults that are currently single, more than a third think they won’t find love. While nearly a tenth of these have been single for less than a year and nearly half have been single for more than a decade.For singles in particular, bad dates are a serious issue.Close to one third of Scots have had some kind of negative dating experience – among the most common factors are not liking the same things as their dates, their dates only talking about themselves or even having inappropriate images sent to them.Psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos said: "To some extent saying that you've 'given up on love' is a self defense mechanism, lowering your own expectations so you won't be disappointed if it never happens."It doesn't mean you aren't hopeful or even actively looking for a partner. However people need to be aware of self-fulfilling prophecies where our negative expectations stop us even looking for love, because the reality is that you're much more likely to make a meaningful connection if you believe in the possibility of it happening."Most Scots have given up on love because they don’t feel they are attractive, people don’t seem interested in them or they find it hard to trust people.Jemima Wade, spokesperson for eHarmony.co.uk, added: "People get in touch with us every day to tell us about about their newly found love stories. "They’re all different ages and from up and down the UK, and many confess that they’d given up on finding someone who really gets them.That's how we know compatibility matching works, which is why eHarmony partners people on their beliefs, values and characteristics – the stuff that counts! It means better matches that you instantly click with, and will stand the test of time."However, despite thinking they would never find anyone, one in eight who had previously given up on love actually went on to meet someone, predominately through friends, at work, or via online dating.